Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the ongoing transportation issues in Boston Public Schools as late and irregular buses continue to plague the district’s first days of school.

“Every single day of a child’s education matters, and every minute that they’re not in class getting that learning time, we take extremely seriously,” Wu said on WGBH on Tuesday. “The first day of school for everyone except for kindergarteners on Thursday, and then for kindergarteners the following Monday — it’s always a challenge, with so many more vehicles on the road, everyone getting used to those routines.”

BPS bus performance took a nosedive for the first day of school this year, with only 34% of buses arriving on-time to drop kids off at school Thursday, according to BPS data. Though a first day dip is expected, last year 62% of buses made it to school on time for the first day. The state has mandated the district reach a 95% on-time bus performance.

On Thursday, 62% of buses arrived within 15 minutes of the first bell and 80% arrived within 30 minutes and the afternoon timeliness improved significantly.

By Friday, Wu said, times saw “huge improvement. Closer to the norm for the start of school, the district reported 61% of buses arrived on time Friday morning, 84% within 15 minutes and 94% within 30 minutes.

Times dipped slightly again as kindergarteners returned to school Monday and Tuesday morning, with 57% and 58% on time, 84% within 15 minutes, and 94% and 95% within 30 minutes respectively.

This year, there were “particular additional wrinkles” around transport on the first day, Wu said, echoing the BPS superintendent. She cited the launch of the Zum technology — allowing parents to track and receive notifications about school buses — this year and a new trend of “many, many” families registering for school and bus routes at the last minute.

“Just as a comparison, last year, about a third of our bus drivers had route changes from when they did their dry runs when the routes were assigned in early August to the start of school,” said Wu. … “This year, double that, two thirds of drivers were adjusting to changes that had occurred between when the routes were set for their dry runs and the start of school.”

The district has “not seen these numbers in the August, September registration timeframe before,” Wu said, noting the influx and unpredictable registrations of new migrant families. To adapt, she added, the city will look to encourage school registration earlier next summer.

Wu said despite the learning curve, the district transportation is set to get to a “better place with more data, more reliability, more engagement with families.” Asked if she believes BPS will meet the goal of 95% on-time bus performance this year, the mayor did not give a direct answer but said the city’s goal is 100%.

Related Articles

Amid criticism, Boston Mayor Wu announces plan to expand BPS free museum program to all city kids

BPS data show two-thirds of Boston school buses late on first day, city councilor presses for answers: ‘Unacceptable’

Does a century-old will hinder Boston’s White Stadium plan? Some seem to think so

Boston Mayor Wu extends BPS free museum initiative through 2024, but holds off on expanding it to all city kids

BPS has no-show buses, delays as Boston students return to school amid talk of transportation, safety and teacher’s contract

The mayor called on families to give feedback on Zum and the transportation at schoolbus@bostonpublicschools.org or call the BPS Transportation Hotline at 617-635-9520 for real-time questions or challenges. Wu also noted only 60% of families have downloaded Zum, encouraging more to do so.

“Major challenges are being addressed day by day, year after year,” said Wu. “This is the first year in a very, very long time that BPS has had full staffing for bus drivers and for the bus monitors who are on the bus, and we’re seeing real promise.”